For instance some airlines will give you bonuses through their portals. So, if you buy on a portal with your credit card, you’ll earn extra opportunities to ramp up your points by dining at certain restaurant chains.

8. Charge everything you can but be selective

Be selective about your purchases. Some credit card companies will view your account with a jaundiced eye if you pay your taxes with a card or patronize cigar stores.

Try to research what is acceptable to the card companies. To some card companies, car insurance and utility bills are permissible. But make certain purchase-charges do not invite fees that are higher than your reward values.

9. Research expiration dates and monitor your point accumulations

Watch for expiration dates on reward points. Some reward points will unexpectedly expire on certain airlines or if you don’t use the card in a timely fashion.

AwardWallet is one app that will help you plan.

10. Redeem points strategically

Maximize your opportunities.

For instance, while you can use your points for shopping they don’t give you the best return on redemptions.

Another example — the same destination is treated differently by airline companies – contingent on the flight dates.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are more travel strategies:

Before You Travel Abroad, Take 6 Financial Precautions Today — Whether you’re traveling to a foreign country for business or pleasure — there are at least six steps you should take. You need to do more than just making sure that your passport is current, planning your itinerary or deciding what to pack.

Travel — How to Avoid Foreign Currency-Exchange Fees — When traveling abroad for vacation or business, foreign currency-exchange fees can get costly for thrifty-minded people. There are steps you can take to avoid extra fees in exchanging currency. The pitfalls to avoid range from using airport exchange tables to using credit cards that surcharge the purchase of products and services.

Trending: ‘Bleisure’ Travel in Europe — Annually in Europe, 30 percent of travelers are businesspeople. Ostensibly, many are increasingly adding days to their business travels to take a leisure break. Hoteliers welcome the trend and dub it bleisure travel.

6 Top Tips for Etiquette in Business Travel — If you’re into people-watching, the airport is an entertaining place to be. You’ll see all kinds of personalities. That’s especially true for the wide variety of business travelers. For successful trips, business travelers share one common trait. They need to be mindful of business etiquette.

“The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.”

-Rudyard Kipling

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.